What’s in Labor’s ‘Secure Australian Jobs Plan’ for casuals?
Dr Terri MacDonald Director (Policy & Research)
In February, Federal Opposition Leader, Anthony Albanese launched the ALP’s industrial relations policy, called Labor’s Secure Australian Jobs Plan, that many expect will be taken to the next Federal Election. The plan pledges that Labor will: • Make job security an object of the Fair Work Act 2009 so that it becomes a core focus for the Fair Work Commission. • Extend the powers of the Fair Work Commission to include “employee-like” forms of work, allowing it to better protect people in new forms of work, like appbased gig work, from exploitation and dangerous working conditions. • Legislate a fair, objective test to determine when a worker can be classified as a casual so people have a clearer pathway to permanent work. • Limit the number of consecutive fixedterm contracts an employer can offer for the same role, with an overall cap of 24 months. • Ensure a Labor Government is a model employer by creating more secure employment in the Australian Public Service where temporary forms of work are being used inappropriately. • Use government procurement powers to ensure taxpayers’ money is used to support secure employment.
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NTEU has long fought to curb the growing proliferation of insecure employment in higher education. We are pleased to see that Labor has identified insecure work as a major policy area and have responded directly to the ALP regarding their jobs plan.
domestic student tuition contributions (via HECS-HELP). However, the situation is set to become far worse. The Government’s most recent changes, via the Job Ready Graduates (JRG) policy, force universities to teach more
Background Insecure employment is now the primary form of employment in the higher education sector. With around 65% of university employees employed on an insecure basis (43% as casual and 22% on fixed-term contracts), only one in three university employees has a secure job.
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NTEU has long fought to curb the growing proliferation of insecure employment in higher education. We are pleased to see that Labor has identified insecure work as a major policy area
The growth in insecure employment has occurred at the same time as the Federal Government has reduced its proportion of public funding in higher education; in 2012, Commonwealth Grant Scheme funds contributed 25.6% of university funding, but by 2019 that had fallen to 20.6%. The growth in funding has been in international student fees and in
Connect ® Volume 14, no. 1 ® Semester 1, March 2021
students with less government funding (on average) per student. The JRG also confines this funding to teaching only, when previously it could also support the research that underpins university teaching. Combined with the effects of mass job losses in the sector resulting from the COVID-19 collapse of the international student education market, these changes
